Northern England

Dinner with the branch – ancient viking York – shopping York – Abbeys and Castles (I like abbeys, Kelly likes castles) – sheep everywhere – winding roads through the Moores and Dales – Wensleydale cheese – Preston temple – site of first baptisms – true English breakfast

Northern England was breathtaking. My favorite part of any corner of the world are the rural roads. So picturesque. (This one is going in our living room.)

Towers of York Minster

Bryan photographing York Minster

Roche Abbey-- incredible ruins of an old monastery

Roche Abbey



This is the epitome of a tourist vacation with a family of photographers. (Notice the 4 pictures being taken simultaneously, including mine!)

We visited Middleham Castle. In the struggle for power between the church and the state, the lords often torn down Abbeys (hence the ruins at Roche Abbey) to build their castles. Castles were built in a more practical and industrial style than the Abbeys, but it was cool too. This is the view of the "kitchen" through the (missing) floor of the great hall.

The English Moores have stone fences criss-crossing every hill and valley. It made me wish I could spout Frost's poem, Mending Wall. I tried to explain it to my family while we were "in the moment", but no one was really listening. So, if you are a member of my family, follow the link and read the poem! It would have been magical if we could have qouted it while we were there.

We separated for dinner because our group of 13 was too large for any of the small villages we were driving through. The five of us found a village pub where Nigel, the bartender, introduced us to Ginger Beer. It's great stuff! I'm hoping we can find some in the US somewhere.

We spent our last day up north in Preston, where LDS missionaries baptized the first members of the church in the British Isles. My own ancestors joined the church in Leeds and sailed for America from Liverpool. This is the Preston Temple, which sits adjacent to the missionary training center where my brother spent a few weeks before leaving for his assigned area in the Leeds Mission.